Fifteens for Jack
by Niss Trah
Summary: On St. Patrick's day, Sam makes a treat for Jack and Daniel asks annoying questions.


**A/N:**

**-For **_**wackyjacqs**_** on St. Patrick's day. Thanks for the Fifteens recipe! They were so fun to make and turned out so deliciously! They were a hit at home, and I have high hopes for the party tonight! This little ditty popped into my head while I was chopping marshmallows in half and realized that Jack O'Neill is Irish! Also, sorry I didn't send it to you to read, but I wanted it to be a surprise….so SURPRISE! Sorry if it stinks. **

- I wrote this in about an hour and it has not been beta read, so sorry if it's a bit choppy. I wanted to get it posted today, so I needed to finish it quickly.

-Happy reading all, and have a safe and happy St. Patrick's day!

-According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the highest number of leaves found on a clover is 14.

This story takes place sometime in early season 5

**Fifteens for Jack**

As Sam crushed the bag full of crackers?….biscuits?...she couldn't remember what they were called, with her rolling pin, she heard someone walk into the kitchen. She looked over her shoulder and smiled as Daniel stopped next to her, setting his coffee mug in the sink. She had the guys over for a little St. Patrick's day meal. The Colonel had insisted on doing it the Irish way and making it about the meal rather than about getting drunk off their rockers. They weren't going overboard with beer and desserts dyed green; although the Colonel had brought along two six packs of Guinness to celebrate the occasion. He insisted that it wasn't St. Patrick's Day without Guinness. Sam was excited to taste the Irish dishes they had all made and for the dessert she was preparing. Something called "Fifteens". It seemed simple enough and no cooking or baking was involved, so she was confident she could master the recipe. And she could now put Daniel to work.

"Hey Daniel. Cut those marshmallows in half, would you?" She gestured toward the stack of fifteen fluffy white marshmallows with her rolling pin and grinned when Daniel immediately took up the task. When he'd finished she gave him the bowl she'd set aside of fifteen maraschino cherries and had him cut those in half too. She waited with an internal grin for him to start asking questions, and chuckled when he only lasted through two cherries.

"Okay, so what could you possibly be making that involves marshmallows, cherries, and whatever those cracker things are?" He raised his eyebrows at her and she rolled her eyes.

"Daniel, I told you about these the other day. We were sitting in your office. Well, I guess that's why you don't remember…I think you were trying to translate that orb that SG-3 brought back. Anyway, these are Fifteens. They're a treat from Northern Ireland. They are supposed to be pretty tasty. I just have to mix all this with condensed milk, roll it in coconut and chill it for a few hours. I don't know if the cherries are the right kind, but it looked like maraschino cherries in the pictures and I couldn't find the ones from the recipe at the store. It shouldn't matter…I don't think…"

"Oh. Well, if you say it will be good, I guess it will. Who knows about the cherries though. I'm sure it will be fine. It does seem like a weird combination to me, but I'm game." Daniel finished the cherries as he said this and looked at Sam expectantly. She grabbed a bowl, dumped the cracker crumbs, marshmallows and cherries into it and had Daniel mix them up. Then she poured in the condensed milk and after Daniel had mixed it once again, they both looked into the bowl in apprehension. Sam was terrified that she'd already messed things up, but didn't want to voice it to Daniel, hoping he would have a more positive outlook. Her hope was proved futile with his comment.

"Err…Sam? Is it supposed to look like that? It sort of looks like a kid dropped his snack in a wet sandbox." Daniel was staring into the bowl warily and she shrugged. She felt an inexplicable urge to cry, but knew it was over something trivial, so she choked it back.

"I don't know Daniel. I've never made it before. Maybe it'll look better after it's been chilled. At least I hope it does. I really need this to turn out well." She had tried to keep the desperation out of her voice, not wanting Daniel to ask about it.

Daniel did notice though, she could see it as he looked at her sympathetically. She hated when Daniel and Teal'c did that to one of them. She hated seeing that look in their eyes, the one that said they felt so sorry for Sam and Jack and that they couldn't act on their feelings. Sometimes, she wished those feelings had never been pulled into the open. She liked it better when they were gathering dust in the farthest corner of her heart. She sighed in resignation as Daniel settled onto one of her kitchen stools and opened his mouth to speak.

"Sam, I'm sure it will turn out. Besides, even if it doesn't, I'm pretty sure Teal'c brought pie. He thinks it's his job now or something." Daniel grinned at her and Sam tried to smile, but she couldn't let it go.

"It HAS to turn out Daniel. But I bought extra ingredients, so if it doesn't, I'll just do it again." She told him forcefully and plopped down across from him at the counter. He looked at her oddly, seemingly able to see there was something she wasn't telling him, but she wasn't about to tell Daniel that she felt strangely and romantically domestic making a dessert specifically for Jack O'Neill. But with Daniel piercing her with his creepy, soul searching stare, she couldn't resist explaining.

"I just…I want him to like it I guess. You know…" she waved her hand around in the air, unknowingly mimicking the man himself "it's St. Patrick's day and he IS the only one of us that is Irish. I just want him to be pleased." She huffed at Daniel in exasperation, annoyed with him for getting her to admit it with hardly any cajoling. She watched as he bit back a grin.

"Oh!"

"Daniel!" She growled in warning before he could say another word. This was not the time for Daniel to badger her with questions about her not so secret feelings for the Colonel.

Sam watched in relief as Daniel held up his hands in surrender. She jumped to her feet and spun back to the counter, suddenly embarrassed. As she rolled her creation in coconut, wrapped it in saran wrap and popped it into the fridge, she berated herself for making her feelings obvious to her friend. She turned back to him and forced herself to forget about the whole thing.

"C'mon, let's go see what Teal'c and the Colonel are doing." She turned to the door and was glad when Daniel silently followed behind her.

Before long, Sam was engrossed in a conversation of all the different types of trees they'd come across and which ones were the most "tree-ish". The Colonel, of course, had begun that ridiculous conversation. But as they all talked and laughed, she relaxed and really did forget about the scene in the kitchen with Daniel. And a little later, when they had sat down to eat, she felt extremely grateful to be with her favorite people and told them so. She simply rolled her eyes at the Colonel's response and heard Daniel snort into his beer.

"Geez Carter, it's St. Patty's, not Thanksgiving. No need to get sappy." Sam smiled when Teal'c came to her rescue.

"I have often observed that many of your cultural and religious holidays make people of all ages sentimental and thankful for the many blessings in their lives. Is this not a wise course of action as it is commonly believed to be fortuitous to not take ones blessings and loved ones for granted?" The Jaffa nodded toward Sam and she raised her eyebrows at the Colonel, who threw up his hands in disgust.

"Geez! How'm I supposed to argue with Jaffa logic?" The Colonel shook his head in exasperation and took a long swig of his Guinness. Sam smiled as she stood.

"Dessert time guys?" At their eager nods, she entered the kitchen. As she unwrapped and sliced the Fifteens, she chuckled to herself at Teal'c's insight into Earth. He rarely said more than a few words at once, but when he did, it was advantageous to listen.

Sam carried the plate out to the table and gave a slice to each of them, she caught Daniel looking at her in amusement. She shrugged at him and mouthed "What?" But when he shook his head, she gave up and watched as the Colonel took a large bite out of his slice of dessert.

"Mmmm…nice job Carter. Just like grandma used to make." She smiled in delight as the Colonel obnoxiously smacked his lips and stuffed the rest in his mouth. She almost choked on her own delicious treat when Daniel spoke.

"I'm SO glad you like it Jack! Sam and I were so worried you wouldn't." Daniel's fake sincerity was obvious to Sam and she glowered at him. As Teal'c and the Colonel looked between her and Daniel in confusion, obviously also not buying Daniel's act, she panicked and took out the oldest trick in the book for distraction. She pointed out the window in surprise.

"Oh! What is that thing?!" When the Colonel and Teal'c had turned their heads, she brought her hand up behind Daniel and wacked the back of his head. At his grunt of shock and hopefully pain, the other two turned back and the Colonel looked at her skeptically.

"What is what thing Carter?" He darted his eyes between her and Daniel again and she shrugged.

"Sorry Sir, must have been a shadow or something." She smiled sweetly. "I'm glad you like the Fifteens Sir. Happy St. Patrick's day!"

**End**


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